


I Can't Do This Without You

by ozhawk



Series: Shadows and Light [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Maria, F/M, Manipulative Nick Fury, Maria Hill & Natasha Romanov Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-12
Updated: 2014-11-12
Packaged: 2018-02-25 03:03:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2606111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ozhawk/pseuds/ozhawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A scene that I think could have occurred between Nick Fury and Maria Hill, during CA:TWS.</p><p>Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can't Do This Without You

“Don’t do it, Nick,” Maria tried to fight back her tears. “Please. It’s too risky. We might not be able to bring your heart back up to speed again.”

He gazed up at her, looking oddly shrunken and diminished on the operating table, fighting for breath. “I have to, Maria. If they don’t believe I’m dead, they won’t stop until I am. I have to do this. And you have to make it look real. Grieve for me – and take over.”

“No.”

“What?” he blinked his one good eye in surprise. “Maria…”

“No. I don’t want your job, Nick. I never did. And if you are a target, then I will be doubly so once they realise I won’t be a puppet. Besides,” she gave a rather watery smile, “if you think I’m leaving you alone, you’ve got another think coming.”

He tried to smile, his fingers pressing lightly on hers. “We still have to do this. Even if you are coming with me.”

“Damn right I am,” she said through her tears. “You won’t get rid of me that easily, Nick Fury. I can’t do this without you.”

“And I can’t do this without you,” he said softly. Her comm chimed, and they both looked at each other, knowing what it meant. She had to leave him now. Go and watch his staged ‘death’, grieve for him in front of two of the very few people who knew what she and Nick meant to each other.

“I love you,” she said quietly, the first time she’d ever said the words aloud. His eye opened wide, and he let out a faint, pained laugh.

“You do pick your moments, Maria.”

 

She stood in the viewing gallery, Steve and Natasha beside her, and she didn’t have to fake the tears as she watched the doctors working on Nick. Natasha took her hand in silent sympathy – Maria and Nick’s relationship was as secret within SHIELD as Steve and Natasha’s was – and the two of them stood together, tears streaking their faces as the doctors called it.

Maria knew that Natasha looked on Nick Fury as the only father she could remember. That she’d truly loved and respected him, and that she was going to be _pissed_ when she found out Maria had faked this. So Maria left her to say her goodbyes, although she paced outside the room, checking her watch frantically. _Eleven minutes_. She had eleven more minutes to get Nick somewhere that she could slam the adrenaline needle into his heart, and that was cutting it fine… _enough_.

“I have to take him now,” she walked in, and Natasha turned to her, tears trickling down her cheeks, and nodded silently.

 

 _Three minutes_. Maria sucked in a deep breath, pulled the prepared syringe from her pocket and slammed it against Fury’s chest. They were in the back of a van, supposedly on their way to take the Director’s body to a funeral home.

It seemed to take far too long for him to take that first, gasping breath. Maria sagged in relief.

“Thank God. I thought for a moment there you’d actually died on me.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” came the low, rasping reply. Maria smiled and placed an oxygen mask over his face.

“Hush now. Let me take care of you.”

 

Once they reached the tiny hidden base, she made him comfortable and changed into combat fatigues. She’d have to leave all too soon, there was work to do, the word coming in from agents personally loyal to her was horrendous. But for right now, she sat down beside the hospital bed and took Nick’s hand in hers. Listening to the slowly strengthening beats of his heart through the monitor.

“I love you,” he said quietly, late in the night, pulling the oxygen mask from his face with his free hand, and she smiled.

“Well, your timing is _slightly_ better than mine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Maria's remark about Nick's timing refers to events that occurred during Chapter 41 (Jurassic Deliverance) of Through A Glass Darkly.
> 
> As always, I live for your comments!


End file.
